Tour Edge Exotics 9* Driver review

[bdcrowe]

Originally Posted by SiberianDVM

You, on the other hand, are doomed.

Priceless....

Sib... If you decide to reshaft, go get on a launch monitor and get fitted for a shaft. They will look at launch angle, spin rates, etc... and turn it into an exact science, as opposed to a pay-and-pray ordeal.

With that said, hold off on doing it. Hit your driver and get used to it. Your current shaft may be just fine, despite someone else saying it was crap (for them, knowhattimean?). I can't tell you how many times I've had a club I struggle with, blamed everything from shaft to full moon, and 95% of the time, I find a glitch in my swing that cures it. Seriously. It is almost always the indian and not the arrow.

I am amazed at some people who buy driver, reshaft, reshaft, reshaft, buy driver, reshaft, reshaft... etc... Even if I had that kind of cash, I'd find better uses. Range balls are cheap. Lessons come in packages. It's better $$$ spent in the longrun.

Good luck.

[SiberianDVM]

Thanks, bd, I plan on playing the Exotics/HL-55 combo for a while before changing anything. Last night I decided to swing easy with every club to hit straighter shots. Hit high, straight, moderate distance (220) shots with the driver, and every other club straightened up. I'd love to have more distance, but this month I'm concentrating on hitting fairways and greens.

But just in case, I'm keeping my 983K close by.

[bdcrowe]

Funny you should mention the "swing easy". You may not be robbing yourself of distance by doing this.

TGC did a replay of Playing Lessons with David Faherty last night, and he mentioned this. Your easy, relaxed swing may actually produce more distance when you get used to it, since relaxed muscles move faster than tense ones, and since you are more proned to store up clubhead speed for impact as opposed to wasting speed up top and slowing down into impact.

I encourage you to keep the relaxed, easier swing and see what happens. If anything, think "fast" instead of think "hard". There is a diffrenece.

[SiberianDVM]

If anything, think "fast" instead of think "hard". There is a diffrenece

Yes, but I haven't figured out how to attain "fast" without swinging "hard". Freddy Couples can do it, why can't I? I'll keep trying.

[bdcrowe]

I hear you, brother...

Think of it this way: It's the difference between a bull-whip and an ax. It you are chopping down a tree, you are muscling the ax into the tree. You muscles are tensed up working the ax. This is swinging hard. A bull-whip is fast. Your body stays pretty relaxed, but the muscles are moving fast anyway. The end of the whip is moves steadily faster until the moment of impact, when the speed is used.

Also, similar is the difference between a shot-put and a baseball. You throw hard with a shot-put. You use a lot of energy to get it started and keep pushing through hard until it is gone. Conversely, when you throw a baseball, you stay fairly relaxed. Your arm starts the motion, arcs through, steadily getting faster until the proper moment when the stored energy snaps the baseball out of the hand.

In the golf swing: You can hit hard, pulling down hard from the top by tensing up your muscles and powering it down. This expends the energy early, and pulls the body mass back away from the ball in a cantelever action.

When you swing fast, you keep the arms relaxed, allowing the rotation of the trunk to start them moving. The relaxed arms begin moving faster in an arc while the trunk moves toward the target, getting your body weight into it. As the arms move down, centrigul force pulls the clubhead faster and faster until it releases into the ball automatically will all of that pent-up force-- saved for the proper moment.

I know this probably doesn't help, as it's as convoluted as any other description. Good luck.

[SiberianDVM]

Good stuff, bd. I'll try to remember and implement it.